>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
>-Nathan, the counter-examples you point to range from the alarming to
>-the repulsive. Calling India essentially Hindu would be a very
>-controversial position for lots of Indians.
>
>And yet, that was the message of the British when they split Pakistan off
>from India. The British took religious differences and declared them the
>basis for nationalistic divisions over borders.
>
>So to repeat, there's nothing odd in modern history about a
>religious-nationalistic mix in Israel as opposed to the many other nations
>where such mixes are at play.
>
>-And I do wonder how the
>-BJP would react to Hindus migrating to India from other countries and
>-claiming a piece of their essential Hinduness, whatever that is.
>
>They'd no doubt love it. They worry quite a bit about birth rates of
>Hindus vesus muslims:
>http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/4028818207ce7b2e0108079cf6970600.do.html
>"Hindus pressed to have more children "
>
>"K.S. Sudarshan, who heads the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the
>ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party which led India until last
>year, said a higher Hindu birth rate was vital to check a "population
>imbalance."
>
>The RSS holds considerable sway among the large, conservative Hindu
>population, especially in impoverished northern India.
>It has often expressed concern about what it calls a higher growth rate
>among Muslims, especially in areas bordering Nepal and Bangladesh where
>India says illegal immigrants, mainly Muslims, infiltrate into the country."
>
>-- Nathan Newman
This is really going nowhere, but I'll conclude by pointing out that you're trying to get Israel off the hook by citing British imperial practice and a quasi-fascist political party. Doesn't that embarrass you?
Here's an interesting piece that likens the BJP to Serb nationalism, and Kashmir to Kosovo <http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/09/16/stories/1316017n.htm>. As I recall, you supported bombing the Serbs over their exercise of nationalism. Should we load up the B-52s and bomb Israel?
Doug